Chapter 1501:18-2 Collecting Endangered Native Ohio Wild Plants

It shall be unlawful for any person to take native species of
wild plants or parts thereof that are listed as endangered or threatened by
rule 1501:18-1-03 of the
Administrative Code, for commercial purposes from any woodlot, field, or
forest, or from any other location in which such plant is found growing in its
native habitat.

It shall be unlawful for any person to take, possess or
transport for botanical, educational and scientific purposes, or for
propagation in captivity to preserve the species, any native Ohio species of
wild plants or parts thereof, that are listed as endangered or threatened by
rule 1501:18-1-03 of the
Administrative Code without first obtaining a permit from the chief of the
division. Nothing in this rule shall prohibit the taking or possession of
species listed on the"United States List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants" for botanical, educational, or scientific purposes, or for
propagation in captivity to preserve the species, under a permit or license
from the United States or any instrumentality thereof.

(A)
All persons
requesting a permit for the taking, transporting or possession of any native
species of wild plants listed as endangered or threatened with statewide
extirpation for botanical, educational, or scientific purposes, or for
propagation in captivity to preserve the species, shall at the time of
application for such permit provide the following information in writing to the
chief:

(1)
A program or project description
with a clear statement of study or program objectives.

(5)
Species and number of plants to be
collected and site(s) from which plants are to be collected.

(6)
Assurance that a final or annual report
will be filed with the division, prior to the first day of February of each
year following the calendar year during which plants were collected, containing
a clear statement of the final disposition of each individual plant collected.
A copy of any published papers resulting from the study of these plants shall
also be filed with the division as soon as it is available.

(B)
A permit shall be valid for a
period not to exceed one year, but may be renewed or revoked at the discretion
of the chief.

(C)
Persons failing
to provide full information required in paragraph (A) of this rule to the
satisfaction of the chief shall be denied a permit.

(D)
Failure to meet the requirements of the
permit at the conclusion of the project shall be reason for the chief not to
issue future permits to the person failing to comply.

(E)
A permit must be displayed upon demand to
any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction or to the owner or person in
lawful control of the land upon which plants are collected.

Any nurseryman, dealer, or individual who has legally obtained
any native species of wild plants listed as endangered or threatened in rule
1501:18-1-03 of the
Administrative Code from another state or commercial propagator shall provide
proof upon demand that said plants were legally acquired.

Nothing herein shall be interpreted in such a manner as to
prevent any nurseryman or dealer who is licensed under Chapter 927. of the
Revised Code from selling, offering for sale, shipping, or otherwise disposing
of any endangered or threatened species of plants or parts thereof when such
plants have been commercially grown by a licensed nursery or legally imported
into this state. Furthermore, nothing herein shall prohibit a person from
willfully rooting up, injuring, destroying, removing, taking, or possessing an
endangered or threatened plant from his property or from the property of
another when said person has written permission of the owner, lessee, or other
person entitled to possession.